Marshmallows and Mistletoe
by tbehartoo
Summary: Nino knows that Alya hasn't always had the best history with happiness at Christmas time. He's determined to make their first Christmas together in their first apartment perfect.


"What the-" Alya stopped in the middle of the doorway looking down at her barking pomeranian puppy. When she left in the morning he had been a tan little puff ball, but now all that could be seen was his little foxy face and tiny tail, everything else was covered in a hideous, knitted confection of forest green and crimson. "Malin has an ugly sweater! My life is complete!"

"I'm glad to hear that," Nino said as he gave his wife a kiss. "I guess that means we can cancel Christmas and I can return your presents."

"Don't you dare Lahiffe!" she said with a mock growl. "I need that Himalayan salt scrub and those fizzing bath bombs."

"You weren't supposed to know about the bath bombs," he tutted at her as he took her computer bag and briefcase to put them on her desk in their shared office.

"Don't leave your Amazon page up and not change any of your passwords," she replied as she checked the pans on the stove. She inhaled deeply and her mouth started watering at the scent of onions and ras el hanout. She knew the other pan on the stove would be a fluffy couscous to go under the simmering stew in front of her.

"Babe, have I ever told you that I love it when you make me Moroccan food?" she said when Nino returned to the kitchen and dining area.

He stepped up behind her to give her a hug. "Just about every time I make it." He gave her a quick squeeze and kiss on her neck. "Have I ever told you how much I love being able to kiss you at the end of a long day?"

Alya put the lid back on the pan before spinning around in Nino's arms and putting her own arms around his neck. "Maybe you should remind me," she said with a grin.

Nino happily obliged.

Eventually they had to disengage to keep the food from burning.

Nino moved the chickpea stew off of the hot burner while Alya got the dishes. They served themselves at the stove and moved to the couch. Nino set his plate on the coffee table and returned for glasses and something for them to drink, while Alya fetched utensils and napkins. Once they were seated Malin whined until Alya picked him up so that he could sit with his people. Ultimately both humans and puppy were situated in comfort and dinner began in earnest.

Nino decided to wait until after dinner was over and the dishes were done before broaching the subject that had been on his mind all day. He wasn't quite sure how to bring it up as Alya was touchy about things like family and Christmas being mentioned in the same sentence.

"Stop eating all the marshmallows Lahiffe, I want some too," she teased as they made some hot cocoa before watching their saved tv shows. She looked closely at her husband. He was shoveling the mini-marshmallows into his mouth on automatic and didn't even seem to be chewing them.

"Hey," she said quietly as she put her hand on top of the one reaching for another one of the fluffy, white squares. His hand stopped moving.

"Nino?" she started brushing her thumb over the back of his hand. "What's bothering you, hon?"

"Huh?" he looked down at their hands and then into Alya's concerned face. "Oh, um, just thinking about something." He picked up his mug and headed back to the couch, "But I'm pretty sure you're not gonna want to hear it."

She picked up her mug and grabbed a handful of the marshmallows as she followed him back. "Come on Nino," she said gently, "If there's something worrying you, I want to hear about it."

"Okay, just hear me out," he said as he turned and only partially faced her. "This is our first Christmas in our own place and it might be small, but it's ours." He gestured to the tiny apartment. "And Christmas is a big deal in my family." He set his mug down and picked up Malin. He started petting the puppy, he continued talking but didn't look up. "I'd like to be able to have a family Christmas party-" Well she hadn't said no right away. Maybe this could still work? "-and, and invite everybody." He continued to pet the pomeranian but side-eyed Alya.

Alya reached out and gave the dog a pet on his soft head. He started to lick off the remains of the sugar still stuck to her fingers.

"You want to invite my family over for Christmas," she said blankly.

Nino nodded.

"All... of my family."

Another nod.

"You do recall our wedding reception?"

Nino just continued to pat the dog while Alya's fingers were thoroughly inspected for any sugary molecules by the puppy. The silence continued to stretch out. Nino was about to tell her to forget about the whole thing when Alya sighed.

"If you want to invite my family over for Christmas, be ready for somebody to get stabbed."

And that was all she said before grabbing the remote and turning on "Scène de Ménage." Nino smiled as he riled Malin up then set him free to dash around the room.

He grabbed Alya and pulled her into a hug. "Thanks babe," he choked out. "That really means a lot to me."

Alya hugged him back. "I know." She gave him a kiss on his temple. "You wouldn't ask to do it if it wasn't important to you."

He let her go and heard her grumble as she sat back, "It's a good thing I love you."

Nino couldn't help but grin at her. "I love you, too."

From that moment onward Alya could look forward to new holiday surprises every time she came home. Nino put out garland and candles one day. The next evening Alya found ropes of twinkling lights crisscrossing the ceiling. Marinette had been called in to decorate the tree within an inch of perfection, and she succeeded beyond the wildest of expectations. Unfortunately, no one told Malin that the tree was not for his personal amusement. Marinette was called in again to do damage control and a childproofing gate was erected around the base of the tree. Late in the week Alya came home to find brightly wrapped packages in every nook and cranny.

"Nino, what happened here?" Alya asked in disbelief.

"Adrien brought over some boxes and we wrapped them up," Nino said as he fished for the scissors under the couch where Malin had knocked them.

She tried to pick up one of the larger boxes and couldn't even lift it. "Nino! What is in here?"

"Huh?" he looked up to see what she was talking about. "Oh that," he said as he ducked his head and finally managed to snage the scissors. "You don't want to move that one or any of the other big ones covered in red with gold bows. We decided to wrap my speakers so it would be safe to stack stuff on them."

Alya smiled down at him. "You're really going all out for this, babe."

Nino stood and wrapped Alya in a hug. "Well you deserve the best first Christmas ever," he said earnestly.

"So do you," Alya replied. "Listen Nino, you don't have to keep killing yourself over this." She looked around their apartment. He had turned it into a scene that wouldn't look out of place in one of those home and garden magazines. "Our place looks amazing. Please don't think you have to keep adding to this."

Nino simply smiled at his his wife, having not let go of her it was easy to swoop in for a few reassuring kisses. "There's just a couple of more things and then it'll be perfect."

Alya sighed against his lips, "You're perfect already."

"Thank you, my lady, my light, my love," he gave her a light kiss between each phrase. "But it takes one to know one." And with that he cut off all other conversation for awhile.

The last decoration that Alya noticed were the stockings that Nino hung across a faux fireplace mantle. The fireplace had a fake fire inside with a light and fan to make the fabric flames flicker. Across the mantle were stockings that Marinette had to have sewn since they were far too personalized for him to have found at any store. His had musical notes, his DJ table, tiny flickering lights, and was embroidered with his stage name at the top. Hers was made from what looked suspiciously like one of her old shirts from lycée and was embroidered with Ladyblog articles and the name of the first magazine to hire her after she graduated from university. Malin had a stocking that was bigger than both of theirs combined and was covered with animated, foxy faces along with pictures of all his favorite toys. Alya had looked at the arrangement and laughed. It's like her best friend knew that they both would be stuffing their dog's stocking full of his favorite treats. She sighed as she looked around again at all of Nino's hard work and resolved that nothing was going to ruin it.

The day of the party dawned with Paris covered in snow! It wasn't completely unheard of for them to get it, but it often didn't last. Nino was determined to make the most of the unexpected opportunity. Alya had taken a few vacation days so she wouldn't be stressed about this whole party thing and wanted nothing more than to stay bundled up in their warm, comfortable bed.

"You can't force me to go outside!" she yelled from inside her cocoon of blankets. "It's gonna be cold and wet and miserable. I'm staying here."

"It's Malin's first time to encounter snow!" Nino yelled back as he struggled to get the ugly sweater onto the excited puppy. "So either you put on something willingly or I'll throw you in the snow without your pants."

Alya threw back the covers and glowered at him. "You try that Lahiffe, and I will end you."

"There's my girl," he said as he threw a hoodie and some jeans in her direction. "You know you're going to want to get pictures of the dog seeing all that cold white stuff for your blog. It's going to be adorable."

"You're right," she said as she scrambled to get dressed. "It'll be too cute for words."

"I'll make your coffee," he said as he left the room with Malin in tow.

Nino had been right. Malin's first confrontation with snow was enchanting. He had stayed under the awning of their apartment building as he sniffed at the white stuff. Then one paw ventured a test and was quickly pulled back. He sniffed again getting his nose thoroughly covered and pulled back shaking his head. Alya held her breath while the puppy stared at the vast expanse that was the little courtyard between buildings and then he dived into the drifts head first. He romped and played with the snow as if it was an old friend that hadn't been seen in far too long a time. Nino had brought down Malin's favorite ball and Alya was able to record several moments of Nino attempting to teach the puppy the concept of a game of fetch. If the dog wasn't cute enough to go viral, the sight of her tall handsome husband loping around the tiny square calling for the dog to drop the ball certainly was. Eventually everyone was wet and cold and Alya called for a return to the house.

Nino put Alya on Malin duty while he made breakfast and she was glad she had taken the time to give the dog a bath and blow dry. She found more than crepes and coffee waiting on the kitchen table. There was a whole scene from the North Pole laid out on her best platter. Santa's elves made with fruit faces and crepe hats were gathered around a giant Christmas tree festooned with more fruit and topped with powdered sugar.

Alya sighed, "Your pancake skills are certainly improving," she said as she sat down at the table. "Did you already Instagram this for Adrien to see?"

"Do you doubt me?" he asked with a mild scoff. "The Agreste-Lahiffe breakfast battle is trending again." There was a twinkle in his eye. "Just because his croissants came out looking perfect doesn't mean he won today." He sat down as he placed mugs of hot cocoa topped with both marshmallows and whipped cream in front of them. "Besides, he has an unfair advantage with Tom helping him all the time."

Alya dug into an elf and made an appreciative moan. "I can hardly wait to see what you two come up with for your combined holiday spectacular," she said through a mouthful of fruit.

"It's going to be epic," Nino agreed. "I think we'll definitely break the internet."

Alya laughed. She loved to see Nino like this, enthusiastic and passionate. She had worried at times last year that she wouldn't see him like this ever again, but they had both learned to roll with what life gives you and to help each other out of the morass of despair.

The first people to show for the party were Marinette and Adrien, of course. They had left Emma with Tom and Sabine so that they could help with wrangling any disgruntled guests. They also brought a ton of cookies and a couple of costumes for Nino and Alya. Nino had changed immediately but Alya had taken one look at what Nino was wearing and locked herself in their room. It had taken Marinette half an hour of talking to the locked door and then several more minutes of one-on-one conversation to convince Alya to at least look at the clothes she had made for her.

"Mari, he's dressed as Santa!" she exclaimed for the hundredth time. "There is no way I'm going to dress up as dowdy old Mrs. Claus for a party that I'm worried is going to turn into World War IV."

Marinette simply hugged her friend and tried to reassure her. "We made it through World War III at the reception, you can make it through this."

Alya shook her head, "This means so much to him Mari. He's put so much time and energy into this and my folks will be in the same room and won't be able to be civil to each other, while the twins take sides and my aunt will just …"

"Alya, you've got to trust Nino," she gave her another hug. "Besides if anyone starts getting out of line, Adrien or I will politely escort them from the building." She opened the box containing the costume. "Now come on and try out what I've made for you. I promise if you don't like it, you don't have to wear it."

Alya sniffed a little. "Okay, but the only reason I'd ever dress as Mrs. Clause is for the cookies. I want to make that clear. It's absolutely the only reason."

Marinette laughed. "Understood."

In only a matter of moments Marinette was standing in the hall that led to the bedroom and proclaiming, "Ladies and gentlemen, mesdames et messieurs, the Lahiffe-Cesaire Christmas party proudly presents...Mrs. Alya Clause!"

The strains of "Santa Baby" began to play from all of the speakers, wrapped or otherwise, and Alya stepped out into the living room. She was wearing a red, sequined, strapless dress that hugged and accentuated her figure. There was a trimming of white, faux fur at the top of the dress and a slit in one side that ended at mid thigh. The red high heeled sandals matched the color of the dress perfectly and showed off the pedicure that nino had treated her to the day before. The straps on her shoes looked to be made of satin ribbons and ended in red bows at her ankles. Her hair was down and curling softly at the ends while an ornate red Santa hat finished the outfit.

She started moving to the music and Nino's mouth dropped open.

"Dude," he said to Adrien who was sitting next to him, "I'm gonna marry that girl."

Adrien merely nodded at him. "You better do it soon," he agreed as Alya slinked toward them, "before someone else does."

Alya ended by draping herself across Nino's lap. "Do you like it?"

"Babe, you are the most gorgeous woman in the world," Nino whispered. "The dress looks nice, too." He started kissing his wife passionately who returned his kisses just as enthusiastically.

"Calm it you two," Marinette said with a practiced air. "Your other guests will be arriving soon and there's still one more thing Nino wanted to put up before anyone else got here."

"Oh yeah," he said as he moved back from kissing her. "There is one more important thing that has to go up." He stood up and planted Alya's feet on the floor before moving away. "Come on Adrien, I need your help."

At last everything was in readiness and the guests started arriving. Once it was determined that all the guests who were going to show were already in attendance, Nino stood before the front door with Alya at his side to make an announcement.

"Dudes!" he began. "Welcome to our first Christmas in our new home." He waited for the murmuring to die down. "I'd like to bring your attention to the decoration hanging over Alya's head," he said pointing to the giant ball of mistletoe and ribbon that hung there. "From the the times of the Druids and on down mistletoe has been considered a magical plant. Branches used to be placed over doors to ward off evil spirits and to prevent the entrance of witches. Since all of you were able to enter I guess we can assume that none of you are witches," There was a polite smattering of chuckles.

"In Scandinavia this a plant that represents peace. Standing underneath it is a place to declare a truce, or even to kiss and make-up." He gave Alya a slight peck on her cheek. "Since it is a custom that is hundreds of years old I'm going to ask all of you to honor the tradition to bury old grudges and declare a truce here, if only for the night." He smiled at all his guests. "I know that not everyone in this room gets along with each other, but please for tonight just try it. After all, you're already dressed up and here."

His face grew stern, an unusual expression for him to wear, "If any of you cannot abide by our terms, you and your warring party will be brought to stand under the mistletoe. If you find it in your hearts to kiss and make-up you can stay, if not then maybe an evil spirit snuck in with you and you'll have to go. Santa has asked his elves to help with this endeavor," Nino pointed at Marinette and Adrien who were wearing green Santa hats with elf ears on the sides. "They are making my list of naughty or nice children, and depend on it, they will put you on the correct list."

Nino then smiled again at his guests. "You are the most important people to us so let's get this party started!"

Suddenly Christmas music began to play and everyone began talking to each other again.

"Do you think it'll work?" Alya whispered in his ear.

"It's worth a try," he said as he gave her another kiss. "We're still under the mistletoe," he answered to her unasked question.

"You've never needed that excuse before," she smirked.

"If only Mari hadn't threatened me with grievous bodily harm if I started a make-out session with you during our party," he sighed.

"I guess we better attend to our guests," she said as she tore herself away from his arms.

He nodded and turned to start working the room.

Many hours later, when the last guest had been ushered from their home, Nino turned down all the lights except for the ones on the tree, started the playlist he'd put together just for this moment, and grabbed Alya. As the strains of Michael Buble's "I'll be Home for Christmas" began to play, he started serenading his wife. She stood there with the lights twinkling behind her smiling serenely at him and he thought he'd never seen a more beautiful sight in his entire existence. Alya pulled him in and started swaying with him.

"You did good, Lahiffe," she said as she laid her head against his shoulder.

"It was all for you," he said as he pressed a tender kiss to her forehead.

She shook her head. "It was all for us."

"Yes, all for us," he echoed gently.

It took a moment for Alya to realize where Nino was steering them, but once she caught on she couldn't help but laugh. As they stood beneath the mistletoe again, she couldn't help but remember one more tradition associated with the magical plant. It was said that if a couple in love kissed beneath it, they could expect a long life of happiness. Keeping that in mind, Alya determined that she and Nino would have a happy eternity together.


End file.
